Hi Trigger8. My doctor also thought I had rheumatoid arthritis because of the size of my joints. The PIP joints on my right index and left middle fingers are huge and painful. I also have smaller knuckle pads on three other fingers. All of them hurt when I try to make a fist and the two worst ones don't close more than half way. They are also very tender when pressed or banged. I recently had cortisone shots for the two bad fingers, which worked wonders for the pain but it wore off after only three months. I had NA in both fingers which caused a major flare with many new painful nodules but the NA was basically unsuccessful. I received a round of RT in Germany and most of the new nodules shrunk and are no longer painful. I'm waiting until I have another NA procedure and possible trigger release before I have my second round of RT because I expect another flare.

As others have suggested, the procedures you've had so far have most likely caused the Dupuytrens to flare. If that's the case, anything you do to treat the problem will likely cause new ones. It's very discouraging but not hopeless. Some folks here have been through many procedures and manage to stay on top of their disease. It's unfortunate that you need to go through this at such a young age.

One point of interest. When I was in my late twenties, I developed two painful knucklepads on my left ring and pinkie fingers after I banged them hard playing volleyball. They went away on their own a few years later. Looking back on it, I believe that this was my first DD flare. It might be worth not doing anything invasive for a little while to see whether the DD calms down on it's own. Just a thought.

newman:

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The repeat surgeries time frame for me varied ,as I said I have had many surgeries and the time frame got shorter and shorter between each surgery.

janmatthews:

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Hi all, I have just learnt about this website and am interested in hearing and learning more. I have had Dupuytrens for 2 years, and am now 52 yr old woman. I had a double carpal tunnel release 2 years ago and this aggravated the Dupies. I didn't know there was such a thing but my surgeon told me later that there was a chance the carpal tunnel op could bring them on due to the trauma on the hands. Since the carpal tunnel op I have had ongoing problems. The pains in both me hands, at the wrists, palms and also numbness in fingers has been unbearable at times. I have had to give up my computer job at a bank and retrain this year as I just couldn't go on with the sleepness nights and pain. The Dupies have continued to grow on my right palm. I look forward to hearing your ideas and stories. Cheers